Report names 1 potential dark horse team in Damian Lillard trade pursuit

Mar 19, 2023; Portland, Oregon, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard (0) participates in warmups before playing LA Clippers at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Jaime Valdez-USA TODAY Sports

Damian Lillard and the Miami Heat have strong mutual interest in each other, but that does not mean other teams are not considering getting involved in trying to trade for the star guard.

ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne reported Wednesday that the Boston Celtics have looked into acquiring Lillard, but the guard is not particularly interested in the Celtics at this point.

“When you look at the league and his stated preference is to win, and teams that have the assets and maybe the ability to get this done, the Boston Celtics have the ability to get this done,” Shelburne said on ESPN’s “NBA Today,” via Erin Walsh of Bleacher Report. “I know they have expressed some interest already in this, but this is not a team that is necessarily on the list, this is not a city that he would necessarily welcome going to right now, at least from what I understand, but as far as a team that can win and that actually has the assets to do it, they make a lot of sense.”

The Celtics have a contending team and could probably swing a deal. Lillard, however, clearly wants to play for Miami, and seemed uninterested in Boston when discussing the possibility even before he demanded a trade. Though he does not have any means of forcing a trade to that specific destination, it would still weigh heavily on interested teams.

The Blazers want a star package for Lillard, and to date, the Heat have yet to make a sufficiently strong offer. However, there are not many teams that could pull it off in the first place.